Ometraco, Accor tie up to build three star hotels
JAKARTA (JP): PT Ometraco Realty, a public property firm, signed two agreements yesterday with Accor Asia Pacific, an international hotel management company, for the creation of a hotel development company and a hotel management firm.
Under the agreement, which was signed here by Ometraco's president F.X. Boyke Gozali and Accor's Indonesia chief representative Marc Steinmeyer, the two companies will construct more than a dozen three-star hotels under the name of Ibis, one of Accor's brandnames, in 12 cities.
Steinmeyer said that in the first two-year period, the two companies will develop five hotels in Jakarta, Semarang, Cirebon and Solo in Central Java, and Surabaya, East Java.
"We plan to build more hotels in other cities, including Malang in East Java, Pekan Baru in Riau, Palembang in South Sumatra, Padang in West Sumatra, Medan in North Sumatra and Ujung Pandang in South Sulawesi," he said.
He said that the two parties agreed to put up US$6 million each in the hotel development company.
Gozali said that Indonesia still needs additional hotel rooms in the coming years as the country's tourism industry is growing steadily.
Minister of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications Joop Ave, who witnessed the signing ceremony, said that this year foreign visitor arrivals will likely exceed 4 million.
Historical properties
The other agreement signed by Ometraco and Accor yesterday called for the establishment of a hotel management firm which will focus on running properties with historical and cultural backgrounds in Indonesia and overseas.
"We will renovate aging properties into special hotels ," Boyke said.
He also said that the hotels will be given Indonesian names, including those located in foreign countries.
Joop asked told the executives to look for aging buildings in Semarang, Glodok area in West Jakarta, as well as in Western and Eastern Europe.
Accor Asia Pacific has the franchise to operate hotels under the Accor brands comprising Sofitel for five-star hotel, Novotel for four-star and Mercure, Ibis and Formula I for three-star and economy hotels.
Accor Asia Pacific, a public company listed on the Australian and Hong Kong Stock Exchanges, is a merger between Quality Pacific Corporation of Australia and Accor SA.
There are currently four Accor's hotels under Ibis name in Jakarta, Steinmeyer said, adding that three others are under construction and another three will be constructed soon."
He said that several other hotels in Toraja, Bukit Tinggi and Medan will start operations next year.
At least there are five leading business groups in Indonesia appointing Accor to manage their hotels, including Ometraco, PSP, Kodel, Poleko and Brasali.
Ometraco, which owns 21 percent of the five-star Grand Hyatt Hotel in Jakarta, has also chosen Accor to manage the four star Novotel Surabaya and Tropics Apartment in West Jakarta.(icn)